Iowa Ag Summit Panels, Speakers Announced

DES MOINES, Iowa – Panel discussions on the 2018 Farm Bill, trade and manufacturing, renewal energy, the future of farming and ranching, and the environment are on the agenda of this year’s Iowa Ag Summit, which will be highlighted by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s address, event host Bruce Rastetter said today.

The summit’s first panel will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines with a discussion on trade and manufacturing featuring Fred Gorrell of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, National Pork Producers Council past president Randy Spronk of the National Pork Producers, Vermeer Corporation vice president Mark Core and John Deere executive Jim Field. It will be followed by a discussion about the 2018 Farm Bill with Wendy Wintersteen, dean, Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Craig Lang, past president, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Gary Wertish, president, Minnesota Farmers Union, and Craig Uden, president, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, as panelists.

U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will speak to summit attendees during the morning session that will be highlighted by Perdue’s keynote speech. The summit will be Perdue’s second Iowa appearance since taking office.

Dave Vander Griend, chief executive officer of the Colwich, Kansas-based ICM, Inc., and vice president of corporate affairs Doug Berven of POET, LLC, are the two announced participants on the panel who will be discussing renewable energy. The day’s final panel will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

Rastetter and Summit Agricultural Group hosted the first-ever Iowa Ag Summit in March 2015, featuring discussions on agriculture and economic issues with a number of 2016 presidential candidates. This year’s summit, also sponsored by Summit Agricultural Group, includes Successful Farming as its exclusive media sponsor.

For more information, please visit: www.IowaAgSummit.com or for ticket information, please contact Jill Ryan at (515) 282-3000 or [email protected]